KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday remanded Armaghan Qureshi, the prime suspect in Mustafa Amir murder case, in police custody in an attempted murder case.

The police had booked Armaghan in the case pertaining to firing at a journalist and wounding him within the remit of the Bahadurabad police station in November 2024.

According to the FIR, complainant Nadeem Ahmed, a senior reporter at 92 Channel, stated that on Nov 19, 2024, he was on his way to office on a motorcycle and when he reached KDA Scheme 1 near his office, a double-cabin vehicle on the road suddenly applied brakes, which led to a quarrel between the complainant and the young car driver, later identified as Armaghan.

During the altercation, the suspect pulled out a gun and opened fire. As a result, the complainant sustained bullet wounds. As the office staff heard gunshots, the suspect allegedly fired shots again to create panic and terror in the public and managed to escape from the scene.

On Friday, the investigating officer (IO), Aamir Altaf, brought Armaghan before the ATCs administrative judge-17 and sought his physical custody for further interrogation.

He informed the court that the complainant had come to the police station and claimed that last year, Armaghan had allegedly shot and wounded him before escaping from the scene.

The IO further claimed that based on the complainant’s statement, the suspect was interrogated, and he allegedly confessed to the crime. He said, later, the suspect was nominated in the case based on his identification/ pointation of the crime scene.

He requested the court to grant the suspect’s physical remand for four days to recover the crime weapon, the car, and other relevant records.

After the hearing, the court remanded him in police custody for four days and directed the IO to submit a progress report at the next hearing on March 18.

During the proceedings, Armaghan complained about maltreatment by the police and claimed that they allegedly tortured him on his arm and neck using burning matchsticks. However, the court noted that the suspect failed to show any visible marks or signs of torture.

The court directed the IO to conduct the investigation “strictly in accordance with the law and ensure that the accused is not subject to any undue coercion or maltreatment.”

In its order, the court noted that the record revealed the suspect was not earlier named in FIR No. 338/2024; however, the complainant later identified him through social media posts, where the complainant had seen the suspect in another case.

Subsequently, the complainant went to the police station, and after his identification, the police arrested the suspect in this case.

“Accused Armaghan is alleged to have committed a heinous offence...The nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding the accused’s identification necessities custodial interrogation and recovery,” the court noted.

A case was registered at Bahadurabad police station under Section 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with 7 ATA.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2025